Democracy has always been a fragile experiment with everyone from the ancient Athenians, Roman Republicans, and American revolutionaries themselves doubting its longevity. In my opinion the first real optimist about self-government was Abraham Lincoln and even he in the Gettysburg Address admitted difficult it would be to maintain such a system. Most likely model for the future of America? Augustus’ Roman Empire in which his return to monarchy was veiled by a semblance of the old Republic.
Democracy has always been a fragile experiment with everyone from the ancient Athenians, Roman Republicans, and American revolutionaries themselves doubting its longevity. In my opinion the first real optimist about self-government was Abraham Lincoln and even he in the Gettysburg Address admitted difficult it would be to maintain such a system. Most likely model for the future of America? Augustus’ Roman Empire in which his return to monarchy was veiled by a semblance of the old Republic.